I'm surprised by the amount of different viewpoints represented by tech-geeks here. However, having said that, it's ultimately unsettling because it would seem most people have no idea about concepts in macro-economics.
So, I thought I'd compile a few points for people to take into account before they make a final conclusion about this situation we're in (No, not just America, the world)
1. This is NOT the first time we’ve raised the debt ceiling.
2. Most countries peg their currency off of ours, which allows us a lot of freedom when it comes to dealing with debt. We may owe a lot of money but there are countless countries who owe AMERICA a lot of money. So for instance, China is so successful when it comes to cheaper prices because it will lower their prices based on our dollar so that they can keep the same level of competitive advantage. China does own a lot of our deficit but without our demand they are worthless (for the time being)
3. We have done a lot of favors. Most notable mentions are to Japan, Germany, and China after World War 2 because the United States paid for most of the rebuilding and aid that went into reestablishing these great nations. (and must I mention, we didn’t ask for that back yet)
4. Back before World War 2, we originally got off the gold standard for multiple reasons but the biggest one being, A DEBT THE US COULD NOT COVER that includes, social programs like SOCIAL SECURITY, and I don’t know, a more well known problem, World War 1. Germany got off the gold standard a long time ago because they needed to pay for WW1 and because they were already in a deficit.
5. Adding more debt is a bad thing, AU CONTRAIR my lads, if you look at history, it would seem most times we needed to spend money to get out of a recession but we have a tough time dealing with after-effects, or basically, inflation. The way we’ve dealt with it is basically by sitting still, we haven’t done anything. We’re supposed to reduce the budget but we never do, no one really ever does by that much. Think about it, my grandfather always said blablabla icecream use to be 5 cents, well now it’s 2 dollars but our quality of living is still the same if not higher.
A final, moot point.
We will never rid ourselves of debt, especially with a system that makes money out of thin air by adjusting credit regulations. It is inevitable; we cannot and will not go back to a gold standard When it comes down to it, we can borrow as much money as we’d like so long as the US still stands as the international market-place for the world. We no longer are a manufacturing nation credit has become our bread and butter. It all just comes down to whether the bank will give us more credit should they, no.. Will they? Yes. Why? Because the United States with a limited budget is bad for everyone.
People pay us to police the world